FAITH
COLO. SHERIFF ALLEGES SHOCK TRAINING TO
THEBLAZE: DHS-BOUND OFFICIAL WARNED AGAINST ‘CHRISTIANS WHO TAKE THE BIBLE
LITERALLY’
Apr. 9, 2013 12:41pm Billy Hallowell
This story has been updated.
Undersheriff Ron Trowbridge (Photo
Credit: Powers County)
This
weekend, an email written by Ron Trowbridge, the
undersheriff of Prowers County, Colorado, started sweeping some of the
viral corners of the internet. It alleges that a Colorado State Police training
encouraged law enforcement officials to look at Bible-believing Christians with
intense skepticism.
At first
glance, the startling allegations in the letter, which was first posted on the conservative site Red
Statements, were seemingly unbelievable. But TheBlaze reached out to
Trowbridge to confirm that he wrote the note and to speak further about its
contents.
In sum,
the undersheriff said that he, indeed, wrote it and that the version that has
been published is entirely accurate to what he experienced at the training
session. Here are the first two paragraphs of
his note, which summarizes the problematic training in its entirety:
On
April 1, 2013 I attended training in La Junta, Colorado hosted by the Colorado
State Patrol (CSP). The training was from 12:00 pm to 4:00 pm and covered
two topics, Sovereign Citizens, and Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs. I was pretty
familiar with motorcycle gangs but since we often deal with the so-called
sovereign citizen groups I was interested to see what they had to say.
The group consisted of police officers, deputies, and CSP troopers. There
were about 20 people in attendance.
Trooper
Joe Kluczynski taught a 2-hour section on sovereign citizens. Kluczynski
spent most of his two hours focusing on how, in his view and apparently the
view of Homeland Security, people turn to the sovereign citizen movement.
Kluczynski started off by saying there are probably some sovereign citizens in
this room and gave a generalized list of those groups that have sovereign
citizen views. Among those groups, Kluczynski had listed, were those who
believe America was founded on godly principles, Christians who take the Bible
literally, and “fundamentalists”. Kluczynski did not explain what he
meant by “fundamentalists” but from the context it was clear he was referring
again to those who took the Bible literally or “too seriously.”
For those who are unfamiliar, the sovereign
citizen movement is comprised of individuals who believe that they are free
from state, local and federal laws. It is a loosely affiliated group that
rejects many elements of governance, including, but not limited to, taxation.
As TheBlaze’s Jonathon
M. Seidl explained last year, “They’re a mixed bag. Some reject
their U.S. citizenship and don’t recognize government authority, like laws and
taxes. But others don’t, and are more concerned with private property.” Of
late, officials have cited a heightened potential of violence among these
individuals as well tax evasion and other related crimes. The FBI began looking
at this group more intensely back in 2009, as documented here.
Based on Trowbridge’s
account, Kluczynski was essentially saying that Bible-believing Christians
who take the holy book literally are more likely to embrace such
notions. In his interview with TheBlaze, the undersheriff confirmed this
detail, noting that Kluczynski purportedly stereotyped Christians,
encouraging the 20 to 25 law enforcement personnel at the meeting to keep a
watchful eye over such believers.
“It was a very, very fast course. This guy
spoke at a very fast rate and he used a PowerPoint as he was going through it —
and the first part of his course was on what causes people to lean more towards
the sovereign citizen movement,” Trowbridge told TheBlaze.
“He had a list of groups of people who are
likely or who are sovereign citizens. One was Christians and I don’t remember
how he worded it, but it was Christians — but when he got to that part he said
these are the people who take the Bible literally…these are the people who
think that America was founded on Christian principles,” he continued.
Credit: AP
Rather than telling officials
to literally “go after” Christians, Trowbridge said that the trainer was
alerting police and law enforcement to “be careful of these people,” as they
are apparently at risk of joining the anti-government movement.
Kluczynski purportedly
mentioned “fundamentalists” as well, but he didn’t delve into additional
details surrounding what, exactly, he meant by the label. Trowbridge told
TheBlaze that he was shocked that others in the room didn’t react
more fervently to the insinuations being made during the
presentation.
“What I found a little stunning
was that it really didn’t catch the attention of many there,” he said.
But that
wasn’t all. The trainer also apparently went on to say that it was the election
of a black president that also spawned sovereign citizen sentiment. And he
questioned whether or not officers would be ready to go after “illegal”
weapons, if needed. Here’s the portion of the undersheriff’s letter that
explains these details:
While
Kluczynski emphasized that sovereign citizens have a right to their beliefs, he
was clearly teaching that the groups he had listed should be watched by law
enforcement and should be treated with caution because of their potential to
assault law enforcement. Kluczynski explained why he believed these
groups were dangerous saying they were angry over the election of a black
president. When someone in the group suggested the failing economy was
probably much more to blame, Kluczynski intimated that those who are not going
along with the changes in America will need to be controlled by law
enforcement. Kluczynski even later questioned some of the troopers present
if they were willing and prepared to confiscate “illegal” weapons if ordered
to.
Trowbridge told TheBlaze that
he’s a Christian, which is why Kluczynski’s reported comments about
believers were so perplexing to him. The undersheriff said that he reads the Bible
daily and that he tries to live it out in practice. With that in mind, he
seemed perplexed that authorities would assume Christians are more prone to
being sovereign citizen enthusiasts.
“We’re taught to pay our taxes.
We’re taught to be in authority of those over us. We’re to obey the law unless
it conflicts with God’s law,” he continued.
Of particular note, Trowbridge
said that he would have written off the claims had Kluczynski simply said
that they were rooted in his own personal views. But the sentiments were
apparently approached as though they were fact.
“He said he gets his
information from Homeland Security — and it was on his PowerPoint,” he
continued, noting that it seemed as though the Department of Homeland Security
endorsed these ideologies.
Trowbridge also shared that
Kluczynski told the group that he would be leaving the State Patrol to take a
job with Homeland Security in the coming days.
TheBlaze has reached out to
Kluczynski, Colorado State Patrol and DHS for comment. We have been unable to
contact Kluczynski, however a representative for DHS told us the department is
looking into the incident and will respond as soon as possible.
UPDATE: Around
3:30 p.m. ET, DHS issued the following response to TheBlaze:
The training referenced in the Undersheriff’s letter was not
done in coordination with DHS and no DHS training materials were part of the
prepared presentation. DHS provides law enforcement around the country
with access to training that focuses on the behaviors and indicators of violent
behavior, regardless of the ideology that may motivate it.
